Help

Newsletter

FAA: Savannah's air traffic control tower not in violation

Carl Elmore

The new air traffic control tower is 183 feet tall, and cost some $9.8 million. June 2005.

Carl Elmore

Savannah/Hilton International Airport, March 2005

Carl Elmore

Kirby Kump, an air traffic control specialist, helps guid e aircraft into anbd out of the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport from the new tower. The terminal and the old tower -- less than half the size of the new --- can be seen in the distance.

As federal investigators look into the fatal crash of a Comair commuter plane Sunday in Lexington, Ky., several possible factors have emerged, including one that has raised a question about control-tower staffing at Savannah's airport.

Only one controller was assigned to the Bluegrass Airport tower Sunday morning, a violation of Federal Aviation Administration policies, the FAA has acknowledged.

The lone controller cleared Comair Flight 5191 for takeoff, then turned his back to take care of some administrative duties. He didn't see the plane as it headed down the wrong runway, a strip that was at least 1,500 feet too short for the twin engine jet.

The crew struggled to get the plane airborne before it ran out of runway and crashed in a nearby Kentucky field, killing 49 of the 50 on board and leaving the first officer in critical condition.

FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the Lexington controller had a number of duties that morning: keep track of airplanes on the ground; keep track of airplanes in the air up to a few miles away, and watch the radar - even though a November 2005 FAA directive required tower observations and radar approach operations be handled by separate controllers.

While a clear violation of FAA rules, a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association told the New York Times the situation was not unusual.

Andy Cantwell, vice president for the union's southern region, cited Savannah/Hilton Head International as one airport that operated in the same way, the newspaper said.

But Kathleen Bergen, external affairs manager for the FAA in Atlanta, said Savannah is in compliance with the agency's directives.

"When the tower is operating, Savannah has a minimum of two controllers - one in the tower and one in the radar room below," Bergen said.

"But you have to remember that the Savannah airport is open only 18 hours a day. It's not a 24-hour facility."

Planes can still take off and arrive in that six-hour window, she said, because the FAA has 20 high-altitude radar centers around the country that operate 24 hours a day, covering every airport.

"In fact, there are 100 airports in this country serving commercial flights that don't have control towers," Bergen said.

Seven messages left for Cantwell seeking comment were not returned Wednesday.

Americans for Safer Air Travel, a new advocacy group, has asked the Federal Aviation Administration to explain its standards regarding air traffic control staffing following the worst aviation accident in nearly five years.

"As frequent flyers, we're deeply troubled by this tragedy," said ASAT spokesman Jared Leopold. "When you're flying at 30,000 feet, you want the system to have erred on the side of more backup systems - not fewer. That means having enough technicians on the ground, having well-rested pilots, and following mandates to have enough controllers in a tower at a given time.

"As travelers, we're concerned that too many backup systems are being cut. Whether you're flying out of Atlanta or Lexington or Savannah, you always need enough well-trained, well-rested staff to get you home safe."